Can Anyone Explain How To Determine Which Nicotine Base To Choose PG/VG?

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Blueser

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Ok, I'm trying to wrap my head around DIY but...All the Unflavored Nic I've seen, you have to choose a base % of either PG/VG. Some 100% PG/VG or 70/30, 50/50. So what difference does it make if you nicotine is in a PG or VG base? What are the differentials between the two?

I'm wanting to mix juice at 50/50 PG/VG @ 18mg nic (at least I think I do) This is where I'm somewhat (alot) confused. Which choice for Nic base...PG or VG?...and what % ? and why one (PG/VG) over the other in Nic base.

Also if I chose a 100% PG nic base...can I assume I wouldn't need to purchase an addition bottle of PG since it's already in the Nic base and vice-versa if I chose 100% VG Nic base...and what strength Nic would be easier to work with for a beginner DIY.
 

BadNewsBert

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I started with and still use 36 MG base nic. Just easier than worrying about the dangers of the higher concentrations as I am somewhat accident prone.

As for the PG/VG, its just a matter of preference of what you want your mix to be. I started with a base nic of 50/50 and began mixing at 70/30 PG/VG for the throat hit of the PG. As i don't need much throat hit these days, Ive lowered to between 20/80 and 30/70. To achieve this ratio I purchased a 100% VG nic base.

So it all depends on what you want to mix at. PG is known as a better flavor carrier and gives more throat hit. VG is known to give more vapor and less throat hit, but i personally have had the same amount of vapor production, regardless of the amount of VG I use in my mix.

I would purchase a nic base of your choice, a separate bottle of PG, and VG. That way if you change your preference you'll be able to adjust accordingly. Good luck!
 

zoiDman

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Ok, I'm trying to wrap my head around DIY but...All the Unflavored Nic I've seen, you have to choose a base % of either PG/VG. Some 100% PG/VG or 70/30, 50/50. So what difference does it make if you nicotine is in a PG or VG base? What are the differentials between the two?

I'm wanting to mix juice at 50/50 PG/VG @ 18mg nic (at least I think I do) This is where I'm somewhat (alot) confused. Which choice for Nic base...PG or VG?...and what % ? and why one (PG/VG) over the other in Nic base.

Also if I chose a 100% PG nic base...can I assume I wouldn't need to purchase an addition bottle of PG since it's already in the Nic base and vice-versa if I chose 100% VG Nic base...and what strength Nic would be easier to work with for a beginner DIY.

If you want to make it Ultra Simple, why don't you just buy one Bottle of 18mg PG and the same size bottle of 18mg VG and mix the 2 together? Then you would have 18mg 50:50 that all you would need to do is add flavoring to.

The final mg of your mixes would be a tad less than 18mg but you Might not even notice the Difference.
 

Moogle

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I use 100mg/ml because I am comfortable working with it and dilute it down to 48 mg/ml. That was the first strength I bought and all my recipes use that strength so I figured it was good so I don't have to re-calculate my recipes.

As far as base I use VG because most flavors are PG. So a recipe for me would look like this:

15 ml 12mg/ml nicotine 50/50 VG/PG

3.5 ml NIC base (48mg/ml)
3.5 ml VG
5.5 ml PG
2 ml flavor

Of course everyone does it differently and there are a lot of options. Good luck with your decisions and research, research, research!
 

MarkyD

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This depends on several things, including...

- nicotine strength of final mix you want to achieve
- PG/VG ratio of final mix to achieve
- percentage of final mix used by flavors

Heres how to make mixing quantities work out to nice, easily measurable numbers...

Say I want to make 10ml of 12mg/ml at a 60/40 PG/VG ratio and that whatever flavors Im using will account for 20% of this mixture. If I start with 50mg/ml nicotine solution in 100%PG, and I dilute this base to the 60/40 ratio by diluting it with 40%VG, this gives me a 30mg/ml nic solution in a 60/40 PG/VG base. We then have a final solution that looks like this...

40% nic base @ 30mg/ml 60/40
16% PG dilutant
24% VG dilutant
20% flavoring (in a PG base)
----
100%

Applying this to our 10ml recipe gives us some nice looking quantities...

4ml nic base
1.6ml PG dilutant
2.4ml VG dilutant
2.0ml flavoring
----
10ml

Note how 40% of 30mg/ml is 12mg/ml (our final strength) and that 40% of 10ml is 4ml (our final quantity of nic base). Note how all the other quantities follow the percentages as well. Easy!
 
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cskent

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I like my final product to be in the 40/60 or 50/50 PG/VG range. I mix to a 24 mg target starting with a 60 mg nic base. I can purchase VG quite inexpensively locally, so it makes sense for me to buy my nic in a PG base.

I vape unflavored quite a bit and it's so easy to mix, 12 ml of 60 mg nic, 18 ml of VG, and I've got 30 ml of 24 mg juice at 40/60. And, it costs less than $2 a bottle.
 

thatguy2

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Oct 24, 2013
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Download ejuicemeup calculator and play with the numbers..

Myself, I prefer 15mg @ 75%PG / 25%VG (that's refered to as the "target")

I use 60mg nicotine @ 100% VG

10ml nicotine mixed with 30ml PG gives me 40ml of 15mg @ 75/25 base mix


When adding flavors, the calculator will take that in to account and adjust your required PG for you..

say you want 10% flavor in a 10ml bottle - using the 60mg nicotine, it would take 2.5ml of nic, 6.5ml of PG and 1ml of flavor

The higher the nicotine content, the more you will be able to make from a bottle of given size. I started with 48mg, then moved to 60mg and when I am comfortable with that, maybe 100mg.

But as I said before, get the calculator and play with the numbers.. and before you start, read the stickies in DIY , the blogs by Hoosier and DannyV45, and above all else - SAFETY!
 
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DeeDee1234

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Since, you want a 50/50 mix it really does not matter. The only issue is proportion. The lower the strength of nic the harder it will be to hit your target ratio of 50/50. Question is how important is a 50/50 ratio to you? Is 60/40 ok? 55/45? How high of a strength are you willing to work with? a 36 mg/ml will be tricky to hit 50/50 exactly. 48 mg/ml or higher you should have any problems hitting your ratio's. I prefer pg base because its thinner and easier to work with for me. Play with the calculator. Change strengths and ratios and you will understand better the relationship between strength and ratios.
 

MarkyD

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Purchase (or mix) a nicotine strength which divides evenly to the strength you hope to achieve at the PG/VG ratio you hope to achieve and your mixing quantities will work out to easily measurable numbers, assuming that your flavoring totals add up to a whole or even number. Theres no sense in having to measure out 3.3897ml if you dont have to.
 
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Blueser

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Since, you want a 50/50 mix it really does not matter. The only issue is proportion. The lower the strength of nic the harder it will be to hit your target ratio of 50/50. Question is how important is a 50/50 ratio to you? Is 60/40 ok? 55/45? How high of a strength are you willing to work with? a 36 mg/ml will be tricky to hit 50/50 exactly. 48 mg/ml or higher you should have any problems hitting your ratio's. I prefer pg base because its thinner and easier to work with for me. Play with the calculator. Change strengths and ratios and you will understand better the relationship between strength and ratios.

Tks, I only stated 50/50 because that's what I've been ordering. I haven't tried enough variations as of yet to know what ratio I prefer. At this point I'm just trying to make sure I order the right strength Nic that would be the easiest to work with. Haven't messed with the calculator yet as I was confused about how to determine PG/VG ratios being that I could buy different ratios of Nic with a PG or VG base. So can I assume a 100% PG base Nic @ 48mg Nic would be the easier to work with.
 

gingersnaps

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For the most part it doesn't matter till you get to making higher pg or vg. Especially high vg mixes. Right now my total mix is 30pg 70vg. So to make it simple for me i buy 100 vg nic at 100mg. Keep in mind most flavoring is pg based and counts as such.

There are calculators that take into account the ratio in your nic and the % of flavoring to give a accurate amt of addl vg and pg needed. Ivape app does this not sure what others do since this is what I've been using for a while.

The most important thing is whatever mix you buy you have to use that plus flavor to determine how much more pg vg to add.
 
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MiamiMom63

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It all depends on what you want to vape it in. Whether you are a carto/tank person that needs thinner juice at 70/30 PG/VG, etc. Everyone likes different. At first I got a PG nic base but eventually fell in love with VG, and now I get a VG base. So everyone likes different and some have a sensivity to PG, which I do. I can't vape alot of PG or my nose and lips get chapped. lol.
 

JulesXsmokr

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Being new at mixing, I find using a 50/50 mix at 30 to 40mg. to be easy to work with on the bench, the nic base at 50/50 is easier on the syringes and droppers for me. vg likes to cling and run off slowly, so I like it thinned down a bit. I make my mixes mostly 50/50 also. I buy nic at 100mg. -100%vg by the liter. I transfer only 120ml. at a time in 2 bottles over to my reduced bench mix..:2c:
 

MiamiMom63

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I use 48 mg VG based nic. I've been DIY'ing a coupe years. Nothing major but I can make my all day vape which keeps me happy. I get nervous using any nic base over 48 mg. But that's just me. Also, nic base can help depending on what mg nic you want to make. Pick one that divides evenly with the outcome you want. For example, 48 mg nic divides easier down to a 24 or 12 mg. nic outcome, etc. :) So yea, the outcome of what you are wanting and the device you want to use it in affects the nic base you prefer to work with.
 
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